The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-07-13
Report of the Grand Jury Of the
First District of HInds. County
The Penitentlary.
10 he Hon y wharton. guare:

/
To The Hon. T. J. Wharton, Judge.
After a most arduous session of eleven
DAYS we, the grand jury of the First Dis
triet of Kinds county for this the June
term Of the court, having completed our
labors, beg to submit our final report. We
have examined 90 witnesses and have
| found and returned into court thirty-eight
true bills, of which six have been for muir
der, eight for grand larceny, and the re-
mainder for minor offenses.
We find, with the exception OF murder,
there il very little crime In this district ;
but we are compelled to deplore the fact
| that homicide seems to be on the increase.
| We feel We have discharged our duty to-
ward the suppression Of this crime as best
We were able, leaving the court to carry
on the work.
| We have examined the public officers
accounts and settlements and find every
thing in good shape. We have examined
| the Jail. and find the roof and floors in
bad condition and the bedding and cover
| ing Of the prisoners insufficient and in
| bad condition. We recommend that
proper and clean bedding be furnished the
prisoners and that the roof be repaired or
replaced by a new one.
1 We AEAt II Jul dNtr W At4SRS1t AaC HCuA-
| tertiary, and we report the result of our
inspection as follows: We find compare
lively few prisoners in the walls of the
peniteutiary, most OF them being out on
the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad and
lsewhere We found nothing to COM
plain of in the walls. The yard seemed
z be clean and the building so far as We
ouId Judge, in a safe and clearly condi-
| ton, and those Immediately in charge
polite and accommodating in showing las
around But We feel constrained BY a
sense Of public duty to call attention to
the hospital there, the manner in which it
Ia kept and the condition OF It's occupants
We found twenty-six inmates, all of whom
have been lately brought there off the
farms and railroads, many of them with
consumption and other incurable diseases,
and all bearing on their persons marks of
the most inhuman and brutal treatment
Most of them have their backs cut in
great wales, scars and blisters, some with
the skin pealing off In pieces as the result
of severe beatings.
Their feet and hands in some instances
show signs OF frost bite, and all of them
with the stamp of manhood almost blotted |
out of their faces, which shows that they
have been treated more cruelty and brutal |
ly than nation of sav&ges ought to per-
nit inflicted upon its cOnvicts. They are |
lying there dying, some OF them on bare |
boards, so poor and emaciated that their |
bones almost come through their skin, |
many complaining for the want of food. |
We believe they are led improperly. |
Sick people ought to have light diet, and |
these poor creatures get their beef water |
and meal for soup, as we are informed, |
with coarse meat and cabbage-such diet |
as they cannot eat. One poor fellow burst |
out crying and said he was literally starry |
ing to death. We actually saw live YER
min crawling over their faces, and the |
little bedding and clothing they have is in |
tatters and stiff with filth.
We call the attention of the Board of |
Control to these matters, bat under the |
law we know they can do but little to |
remedy these evils. We believe they will |
do the best they can. We are not to be |
understood as condemning the lessees in |
person for these things, but we do inveIgh |
against the principle and system of this |
great State taking poor creatures liberty |
and turn him over to one whose interest |
1t is to coin his blood into money.
As fair sample of this system, on Jan. |
6, 1887, 204 convicts were leased to |
Mcdonald up to June 6, 1887, and during
this six months 20 died, and 10 were dis |
charged and escaped and % were returned |
to the walls disabled and sick many of |
whom have since died. God will never |
smile upon a State that treats its convicts |
as Mississippi does. After a full exami- |
nation and conference with the kind heart |
ed prison physician DR.. Johnston, we find |
the following persons in the hospital al |
most in dying state, some of them with |
hopelessly incurable diseases and others |
badly afflicted, and all of them confined |
for minor offences, comparatively speak
ing, and who have long since suffered The |
full penalty of the law in being beaten and |
so cruelty mistreated, and whom we here
earnestly beg the Governor to pardon |
Immediately, so that they may at least die
free, to-wit:
Anderson Perkins (colored), consump-
ton.
Geo. Lowry (white), chronic lung disease,
extreme debility sentenced for grand lar
ceny Says he has been in the peniten-
tiary for three years.
Monroe Lusk, col, curious liberated
bones of foot sentenced for forgery. Said
he had been in the penitentiary for eigh-
teen months.
Anderson Tompkins, COL, chronic lung
disease and extreme debility sentenced for
murder Says he has been in the peni-
Tertiary nine months.
OtOs 6LullllJ COL, OhlOhlS 1uuS dlscdsc ;
sentenced for murder. Says he has been
in the penitentiary about three years.
Fayette Halliner, col, chronic dysentery
and very much debilitated.
Stonewall Moore, col, epilepsy and
dysentery, very much debilitated. Says
he has been in the penitentiary two and
one-half years.
Ned Dawkins, col, rheumatism (chronic).
Says he has been the penitentiary eighteen
months.
Turner McDufy; COL, extreme debility,
the result of chronic dysentery. Says he
has ben in the penitentiary six months.
Samuel Toney, COL, chronic lung disease.
Says he has been in the penitentiary two
years
Tai Ellzey, col, dysentery.
Alb Shannon, COL, debility, the result of
dysentery. Says he has been in the penj-
Tertiary six months.'
We desire to say that there has come to
our notice a number OF rumors rejecting
on this grand jury which we denounce as
false. We found only such bills as the
necessary legal nHmber of our body-to /
wit: twelve-freely and voluntarily as
sented to and voted for, and charges that /
we were weak and venal enough to return |
bills improperly and illegally are false
and we brand them so, We return our
thanks to your honor and all the court |
officers, especially to our district attorney, |
who has ably assisted in our deliberations |
and whom we have always found polite |
ready and willing to aid us in the dis
charge of our duties, and we beg to be dis
charged. We also return thanks to our
foreman, Mr.. Gray, who has made an eff |
eient foreman and who has presided over |
our deliberations in a manner that has |
been entirely satisfactory to ourselves and |
highly complimentary TO him.
J. NJ. GRAY, Foreman.